Labour reforms spark clashes

By Ben Aris in Moscow

12:01AM BST 06 Jul 2001

DEMONSTRATORS clashed with police outside the Russian parliament yesterday during a protest against a labour code modernising employment laws.

The protesters, who say the change will also tighten President Putin's grip on power, waved red flags as they broke through a police cordon. As they reached the doors of the Duma, some protesters, many pensioners, scuffled with guards. One woman was knocked to the ground after swinging her handbag at guards.

The code, expected to be passed into law this year, ends the era of the job for life and reins in the unions. The practice of forming a union simply by registering with the Justice Ministry will end, with workers being required to sign up to the charter of a specific organisation.

If they split from that organisation, they lose their legal status. Irene Stevenson, the Russian representative of the International Labour Organisation, said: "What it means in effect is there can be no new unions in Russia."

The Federation of Independent Trade Unions, the largest labour group, which has worked with the government since the fall of the Soviet Union, supports the code. It is also welcomed by business as it gets rid of many Soviet-era perks.

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Yuri Barazov, of Ward Howell, a recruitment agency, said the present system made it virtually impossible to sack a worker. If a dismissed worker went to court, the judges would rule against the employer 99 times out of 100, he said.

Most local firms have found ways around the law, said Mr Barazov, but Western companies will benefit as they usually have to stick closer to the rules.